Swinger Club raided by police?!

[remox]

The reason that Mingles was closed is not because Swing Clubs are illegal. The owners failed to check the local ordinances and failed to obtain the proper licences. Without the proper licensing or being in the proper business zone you can't sell bibles legally.

Zoning and Licensing are the items most often overlooked by people running clubs/parties. It does not matter if the party/club is run from a home or a commercial building, if the zoning is not in order and/or the licenses have not been obtained then the law is being broken.

Yes, clubs all over the world have been raided. Yes, people have been arrested. Usually charges to patrons are limited to things like "indecent exposure" or "lewd conduct". Quite often the charges against patrons are dropped. Membership clubs are less likely to have this problem.

Clubs that require a membership, particularly those with a well defined application process, which may include interviews, membership fees, review by membership committee or similar body offer some further protection to you the patron. Membership clubs are not however proof against illegal activity or police censure. The best protection that you have is to ask questions and pay attention to the answers you get.

When "voting with your wallet" please remember that legal clubs are likely to be more expensive than their illegal counterparts. Responsible club owners will have done the legal research and spent the extra money to obtain the licenses, permits, insurance, fire safety equipment, etc.. to protect their patrons.

How do I know this? I own an on-premise club. We aren't the cheapest, but to the best of my knowledge we are the only legal on-premise club within not only our state but the surrounding 5 states as well.

[JustAskJulie]

Originally posted by bear_n_bunny

And it's damn sure no "house of prostitution" (got a good laugh out of that one). All you are paying for is the priveledge of admission to the place to attend a party. If you happen to get lucky in the nooky department, fine, but no one is promising anything. That's not a "house of prostitution" and any lawyer worth his/her salt could get that thrown out in a heartbeat.

-- Bear

The laws very, but I know that in MI (for instance) if you charge a cover to enter a location where there is nudity (even partial - as we know there is often at a swingers club), you have to have an entertainment license (basically the same license that is required of a strip club). It's not a prostitution thing necessarily but it will fall into the same category.

[Mary&Bill]

Can I ask what club you own? We live in CT and the only one I've heard of in RI is the Black Key Club. From it's website it looks awesome.

Mary

[remox]

There are a great many people who visit this site and I feel it is unfair of me to use the message board as a form of advertising.

I have responded to your question privately through e-mail out of respect for the purpose of this message board.

[Roman Hands]

I don't know the particulars of this story, but perhaps I can shed a little light on how these "raid" incidents usually occur.

To begin with, prostitution laws are state legislated and codified under the state penal code. Federal law does not play into the mix unless the alledged crime involves RICO statutes or other interstate criminal acts. A local jurisdiction can legislate and codify municipal codes, including so called "blue laws" (laws based on morality) which are treated as either torts or infractions (like a traffic ticket). A local jurisdiction can not usurp state or federal laws, although many would like to! Fortunately, in America, we have this little document known as the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, which protects us from the capricious whims of "weekend" politicians and both left AND right wing zealots.

Typically, many of these so called "raids" are not pre planned police actions. Nor is everyone hauled off to jail. Though it would not be unusual for all attendees to be identified and their "contact" information recorded. In fact, often a question of "lawful detention" can be raised. Although it isn't necessarily a wise thing to do when dealing with the officers on scene.

Non compensated sex between consenting adults isn't illegal. Even if it happens to be several consenting adults at the same time. However, I believe that in at least one state, sodomy laws still exist (although I am not certain of that fact, nor of the state). Where people usually run into trouble, as noted in previous posts, is when a party fee is charged, or drugs are present, or zoning laws are violated. Or, perhaps the most common reason the police show up, someone calls in a noise complaint (disturbing the peace) And usual the complaintant is anonymous. The gathering may be as quiet as a bake sale, but if someone calls in a complaint, whether it is true or not, the police are compelled by law to respond and investigate. Sometimes in the course of these investigations the police observe other criminal behavior, such as public intoxication or drug use. Or perhaps nuisance violations like parking violations, littering etc.. and the next thing you know, a so called "raid" occurs.

The bottom line? Yes, "political" police actions do occur often, particularly in small or rural towns and counties. However, by and large, if gatherings are kept relatively low key and out of sight from prying eyes, the risk of becoming "raided" decreases exponentially!

Oh, and I'm not a lawyer, but I did sleep in a Holiday Inn once (seriously though, do not consider my post as legal advice in any shape or form)

[Tybee Swing]

This has been a very educational thread.

[Mr TybeeSwing]

Hello All,

It's been awhile since my last post, I just thought that I would add my 2 cents. Georgia is one of those states that still has sodomy laws on the books. The last time I checked into it there were about 34 states that had one form of sodomy law or another. Basically in Georgia any sexual act other than male/female missionary sex can be considered sodomy, (yes we live in the Bible Belt).

I have actually heard of an incident where a lady invited her ex-husband over to the house, had sex with him, and then reported to the police that he went down on her. When the case came before the judge, the trusting (insert dumb as a bag of hammers here) fellow admitted to the judge that yeah he did it. Well the judge had no choice but to convict the fellow. Luckily the judge either had a sense of humor or a guilty conscience and let the guy off light.

The moral of this story may be "Don't put that in your mouth because you don't know where it's been or where you'll go"

[riswingcpl]

Originally Posted by Mr TybeeSwing

Hello All,

It's been awhile since my last post, I just thought that I would add my 2 cents. Georgia is one of those states that still has sodomy laws on the books. The last time I checked into it there were about 34 states that had one form of sodomy law or another. Basically in Georgia any sexual act other than male/female missionary sex can be considered sodomy, (yes we live in the Bible Belt).

I have actually heard of an incident where a lady invited her ex-husband over to the house, had sex with him, and then reported to the police that he went down on her. When the case came before the judge, the trusting (insert dumb as a bag of hammers here) fellow admitted to the judge that yeah he did it. Well the judge had no choice but to convict the fellow. Luckily the judge either had a sense of humor or a guilty conscience and let the guy off light.

The moral of this story may be "Don't put that in your mouth because you don't know where it's been or where you'll go"

It was only a few years ago that the sodomy laws were taken off the books in RI. It happened not long after a state trooper was caught getting a bj...a coincidence I'm sure

M

[tribbles]

Here

for sodomy laws-keep in mind it is the internet so double check info on state sites where possible.

S